According to a NYT fake trend story, lots of thinkers these days are dedicating their time to undermining optimism. Thanks a lot guys???? Okay. Deep breath. Positive thoughts. Okay. Well: what we do know is that happy people are dumb.

A study published in the November-December issue of Australasian Science found that people in a negative mood are more critical of, and pay more attention to, their surroundings than happier people, who are more likely to believe anything they are told.

Okay but still. Is that a good enough reason for Barbara Ehrenreich to suddenly be transforming herself into some anti-happiness guru (just wait for her anti-self-help book. Oh, it's already here).